New book reveals secret letters of Hitler to German citizens

Hitler was prepared to look after a palm tree following the death of a loyal old supporter but on no condition was he willing to accept a gift of three handkerchiefs decorated with his own face.

The revelation that Hitler refused to blow his nose on his own image is one of the bizarre details from his private correspondence with German citizens. Carried out over 20 years between 1925 and 1945, the correspondence between the ''beloved Fuhrer" and his people contains tens of thousands of letters.

It was transported to Russia after the war and excerpts are now being published for the first time in a new book by Henrik Eberle, a German historian.